The soaring popularity for tattoos is said to be down to stars like David Beckham, 39, Rihanna, 26, and Harry Styles, 20, who have been snapped sporting new designs. Thousands of tattoo fans will show off their inkings at the third Great British Tattoo Show in London this weekend.

Here is the tale of the body art craze by numbers:

1 in five of us now has a tattoo.

10 is for No10 Downing Street. Even the Prime Minister’s wife, Samantha Cameron, 43, has a dolphin tattoo on her ankle.

14% of teachers have a tattoo.

18 The legal age you have to be to get a tattoo in Britain.

19% of 18- to 25-year-olds have returned from a holiday abroad with an inking.

28 The age of Canadian Rick Genest who has his entire body patterned like a skeleton. He shot to fame after starring in Lady Gaga’s music video for Born This Way.

32 The number of inkings on former footballer David Beckham, 39. Becks says: “I don’t regret any of them. They all have a meaning. I think that’s what’s important about tattoos. If they have a meaning you’ll never regret them.”

45% of people with tattoos have their first done between the ages of 18 and 25.

57 The number of tattoos on 5,300-year-old iceman Otzi, dug up in Austria. Although the modern vogue for body art was sparked by sailors, tattoos date back thousands of years. Even Egyptian mummies have them.

77% of women think a man with an unusual inking is likely to be more fun, according to a recent poll.

100% The area of Lucky Diamond Rich’s body covered by body art. The 42-year-old from New Zealand holds the Guinness record for the most tattooed person in the world. He even has inkings on his eyelids, mouth and ears.

350 The number of tattoo artists who will be showing off their talents at the Great British Tattoo Show.

1,500 The number of tattoo parlours in Britain – double the number a decade ago.

£14,000 Cost of Cheryl Cole’s rose design on her bottom, which took 55 hours to complete.

£30,000 How much 34-year-old Matthew Whelan – Britain’s most tattooed man – has spent on his inkings.